On the ride back to my apartment, Zhang closed the border between the driver’s cabin and the rest of the limousine. It was time to talk business, but I didn’t know where to begin. At the beginning of our date I thought I was being wined and dined by one of the most successful businessmen in the world, but now I felt like I was sitting in the car with a criminal.
“Tanya, before we arrive, I’d like the chance to explain,” Zhang said.
“By my guess, in this traffic, we’ve got about five minutes. Shoot.”
“The only simple way to put this is that I’m a double agent. I was taken in by the Chinese government when I was a kid after hacking and stealing secure files from their servers from a library computer. They put me to work as an agent of corporate espionage. Trade secrets, insider trading, you name it. I made money, for myself, and for them. They gave me my own shadow corporation to run so I wouldn’t get caught, but I got sloppy. The CIA caught me in a lie and threatened to lock me up and throw away the key. I took immunity, and in return they had me start feeding them everything I sent to the Chinese. Pretty soon I started putting the pieces together, and that’s when I realized what they’re both planning.”
It was a lot to take in, too much really.
“So, what’s the big plan?”
“Economic collapse. The U.S. doesn’t want to pay their loans to China, and China is tired of waiting. They both want to pull the rug out from the other. What they don’t realize is how it will destabilize the economy. Worse, there’s something going on in the shadows, something they either don’t know about or, something they’ve chosen to ignore. The information both sides want is enough to destroy the financial future of everyone in the middle class. However, this other party, this shadow government, is poised to take it one step further if America or China have their way. They will step in and do something, I don’t know what, but I know they want to collapse the entire world economy. They want it all to burn. I can’t let that happen, so I’ve stolen the documents myself,” Zhang said.
So that’s the illegal part.
“You stole them? Where are they?” I asked.
“I can’t tell you, it’s too dangerous. If you decide to help me, though, I can steal the last piece and prevent all of this from happening. After this is done, I’m cashing out. If you come with me, you’ll spend the rest of your days living in paradise. One last job, what do you say?”
He was either absolutely right or entirely delusional. Either way, he was offering me something that would take me away from all of this. How could I say no to that?
It’s dangerous, but you feel something for him.
It’s true, Zhang had an allure that I couldn’t deny. Even so, I wasn’t cut out for corporate espionage.
“I don’t know Zhang, I want to help, but I just don’t think I’m cut out for all of this,” I said.
I could see his heart sink, and I felt terrible. I didn’t know what else to say.
“Well, it seems we are here. I’ll call you in the morning before I leave for the airport. If you don’t answer, then I’ll know. If you do, then I’ll pick you up on the way.”
I nodded. “Thank you for dinner.”
He leaned forward and brushed my cheek with his hand. His touch was serene and warming. His lips touched mine tenderly and I felt a chill slide down my spine. It was a short and poignant kiss, but it left me wanting more. It took everything I had in me to get out of the car and make that long walk up to my apartment.
I walked inside and closed the door behind me. All the lights were off, which was strange because I usually left at least one on to avoid fumbling in the dark. I reached through the darkness to feel for a switch.
“Move and you die,” a man said.
My heart froze as my blood ran cold through my veins.
“Who are you?”
“Zhang Wu, how do you know him?” he asked.
“We only just met, I don’t know him.”
“You know what he did. Where are the files?”
“I don’t know! I swear I don't know what you’re talking about!”
“Not good enough!”
A loud gunshot rang through the darkness, temporarily illuminating the apartment. The bullet hit just to the left of me, but something told me he could have killed me if he wanted.
“I told you, I don’t know anything!”
The door behind me exploded open and light flooded in. I felt a pair of hands grab me by the shoulders as two more gunshots rang out. I hit the ground hard and had the wind knocked out of me.
“Stay down!” Zhang shouted.
I heard pounding footsteps, followed by another gunshot. I heard Zhang cry out in pain as glass shattered. Once the shards hit the floor, everything went silent. I looked up as Zhang turned on the light. The apartment had been ransacked. All of my things were either broken or throw across the room. The back window was shattered and Zhang stood with his hand clutching a bullet wound on his left shoulder.
“You’re hurt!” I shouted, running over to him.
“It’s nothing, but we need to leave, it’s not safe here.”
The reality of the situation hit me.
“You saved my life,” I said.
“I heard the gunshot as we were driving away. I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t let them hurt you.”
I walked up to him and pressed my lips against his. I ran my hand through his thick hair and clutched the back of his head as our mouths embraced. It was even better than the first kiss; it sent fire through my body.
“I’ll do it. I’ll come with you, Zhang,” I said.
He smiled through the pain.
“Good, come with me.”